Psammenitus's Plot and Death by Bull's Blood — Herodotus, Histories Book 3 (3.15.1–3.15.4), Greek & English

§3.15.1

τὸν μὲν δὴ παῖδα εὗρον αὐτοῦ οἱ μετιόντες οὐκέτι περιεόντα ἀλλὰ πρῶτον κατακοπέντα, αὐτὸν δὲ Ψαμμήνιτον ἀναστήσαντες ἦγον παρὰ Καμβύσεα·

Those who went to fetch his son found him no longer alive, but already cut to pieces first, and raising up Psammenitus himself, they led him to Cambyses.

§3.15.2

ἔνθα τοῦ λοιποῦ διαιτᾶτο ἔχων οὐδὲν βίαιον. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἠπιστήθη μὴ πολυπρηγμονέειν, ἀπέλαβε ἂν Αἴγυπτον¹ ὥστε ἐπιτροπεύειν αὐτῆς, ἐπεὶ τιμᾶν ἐώθασι Πέρσαι τῶν βασιλέων τοὺς παῖδας· τῶν, εἰ καὶ σφέων ἀποστέωσι, ὅμως τοῖσί γε παισὶ αὐτῶν ἀποδιδοῦσι τὴν ἀρχήν.²

There he lived for the future, suffering no violence. And if he had known how to keep himself from meddling, he would have received Egypt back so as to rule over it; for the Persians are accustomed to honor the sons of kings, and even if the kings themselves revolt from them, they nevertheless restore the rule to their children.

§3.15.3

πολλοῖσι μέν νυν καὶ ἄλλοισι ἐστὶ σταθμώσασθαι³ ὅτι τοῦτο οὕτω νενομίκασι ποιέειν, ἐν δὲ καὶ τῷ τε Ἰνάρω παιδὶ Θαννύρᾳ, ὃς ἀπέλαβε τήν οἱ ὁ πατὴρ εἶχε ἀρχήν, καὶ τῷ Ἀμυρταίου Παυσίρι· καὶ γὰρ οὗτος ἀπέλαβε τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἀρχήν. καίτοι Ἰνάρω γε καὶ Ἀμυρταίου οὐδαμοί κω Πέρσας κακὰ πλέω ἐργάσαντο.

Now it is possible to infer from many other examples that they have established this as a custom to do so, and among others, also in the case of Thannyras, the son of Inaros, who received back the rule which his father had held, and in the case of Pausiris, the son of Amyrtaeus; for this man too received back his father’s rule. And yet, no men ever worked more evils against the Persians than Inaros and Amyrtaeus.

§3.15.4

νῦν δὲ μηχανώμενος κακὰ ὁ Ψαμμήνιτος ἔλαβε τὸν μισθόν· ἀπιστὰς γὰρ Αἰγυπτίους ἥλω·⁴ ἐπείτε δὲ ἐπάιστος ἐγένετο ὑπὸ Καμβύσεω, αἷμα ταύρου πιὼν ἀπέθανε παραχρῆμα. οὕτω δὴ οὗτος ἐτελεύτησε.

But as it was, Psammenitus, plotting evils, received his reward; for he was caught trying to make the Egyptians revolt. And when he was discovered by Cambyses, he drank bull’s blood and died immediately. Thus, then, did he come to his end.

Syntax notes4 items

3.15.2εἰ δὲ καὶ ἠπιστήθη μὴ πολυπρηγμονέειν, ἀπέλαβε ἂν Αἴγυπτον
A contrary-to-fact conditional sentence referring to the past. The condition is expressed by the past indicative (ἠπιστήθη) and the conclusion by the past indicative (ἀπέλαβε) with the particle ἄν, meaning 'if he had known how to keep himself from meddling, he would have received Egypt back'. The verb ἠπιστήθη is the deponent aorist passive form of ἐπίσταμαι.
3.15.2τῶν, εἰ καὶ σφέων ἀποστέωσι, ὅμως τοῖσί γε παισὶ αὐτῶν ἀποδιδοῦσι τὴν ἀρχήν
The genitive plural relative pronoun τῶν is used connectively at the beginning of the clause, referring to the preceding τῶν βασιλέων. σφέων is the genitive of the third person plural pronoun, functioning here as an indirect reflexive referring to the main subject (Πέρσαι). The subjunctive ἀποστέωσι (Ionic aorist subjunctive third-person plural of ἀφίστημι) with εἰ καί expresses a general assumption.
3.15.3πολλοῖσι... ἐστὶ σταθμώσασθαι
The verb ἐστί is used impersonally (= ἔξεστι) with the infinitive σταθμώσασθαι to mean 'it is possible to infer'. The dative πολλοῖσι [καὶ ἄλλοισι] denotes the means or ground of judgment: 'by many other examples'.
3.15.4ἀπιστὰς γὰρ Αἰγυπτίους ἥλω
The verb ἥλω (aorist indicative third-person singular of ἁλίσκομαι, an Ionic form) takes a supplementary participle to mean 'he was caught/discovered doing something'. The present active participle ἀπιστὰς (transitive usage of ἀφίστημι) denotes the ongoing attempt to make the Egyptians revolt.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:3.15.1-3.15.4